


Up In Our Bedroom After the War

by Eelvyon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Human Catra (She-Ra), Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Scorpia (She-Ra) Deserves All the Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:54:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22184410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eelvyon/pseuds/Eelvyon
Summary: One day this girl is going to be the death of her. But until then, Adora was not going to leave her side. She had promised Catra. And she always keeps her promises, doesn’t she?Growing up in one of the Fire Nation's military bases certainly hasn't been easy. But at least Adora and Catra had each other. They were the closest thing to family either of them got anyway. Though when a night out gone wrong reveals more about Adora's true origins, the two girls find themselves on opposite sides of a seemingly never ending war.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Huntara & Perfuma (She-Ra), Huntara/Perfuma (She-Ra)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

_**My mother used to tell me stories about the old days,** _  
_**a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads.** _  
_**But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.** _  
_**Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders.** _  
_**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.** _

  
_**A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the War. Ten years ago, my parents died in an attack,** _  
_**leaving me and my best friend to look after our tribe.** _  
_**Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle is broken.  
** _ _**But I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return** _  
_**to save the world.** _

* * *

“Where the _hell_ is she again? Practice started an hour ago!”

Lonnie was furious. Adora couldn’t blame her, though. This was the third time this week that her best friend didn’t show up for firebending training. Unexcused. She had tried covering for Catra but she was a horrible liar. And this time General Shadow Weaver wouldn’t just let it slide when she came in later, even before it took Adora literally begging for her to not suspend Catra from the force. 

_If I at least knew what she was up to, I could at least…_

She got knocked over, unable to even finish that thought. The impact squeezed the air out of Adora’s lungs and it took her a moment to catch her breath again and what was still pressing her down. Or rather who. 

“Catra, for Sozin’s sake, get off of me!”, she tried to sound annoyed but still couldn’t help smiling.

“Ahh, you’re no fun sometimes, princess”, reluctantly Catra got up, pulling Adora with her. “Anyway, I got a surprise for you after training is over. So try not to be back too late, you snooze!”

“You’re one to talk about being late…”

But Catra already left her side, joining the others for the two-on-two fights. Of course she had skipped technical class but was right on time for this. Adora shook her head in amusement, watching Lonnie and her best friend argue over who was going to go first as always. She couldn’t make out what they were saying exactly but the older girl looked ready to punch Catra’s smug smile off of her face, so she decided to quickly get over to de-escalate.

_I swear, one day this girl is going to be the death of me._

But until then, Adora was not going to leave her side. She had promised Catra. And she always keeps her promises, doesn’t she?

* * *

Two hours later and Adora was ready to just drop to the floor and never get back up. Shadow Weaver really made sure to push them to their limits and beyond every session. When she and Catra first started out at the military academy, everyone thought they would get special treatment from the General since they were basically raised by her. Which is also why they weren’t exactly popular among the other cadets in the beginning. To be quite honest, her best friend still wasn’t but that was solely because the other girl somehow always ends up picking a fight with someone. So much rage contained in such a small body. Adora had to chuckle at that thought. Despite her wild appearance with her untamed brown mane and bright, piercing eyes - one blue, the other yellow - Catra was actually quite soft under all that anger and rebellious demeanour. She could even be real charming at times. Adora just wished she could let the others see that side of hers, too, once in a while.

Finally, they got dismissed. She was about to head out and hit the showers when she felt a familiar touch on her shoulder. It was the General’s hand that had stopped her.

“Wait, Adora, I still need to talk to you.” Her face was hidden behind that red mask of hers, her eyes unreadable as ever. 

Shit. What has she done wrong now? She must have messed up somehow, why else-

“We have been watching you for a while and you’re old enough now. And it’s been decided. You will be joining the forces on the field in the next few days. You will be replacing officer Toz who died on his last mission. He only ever was a burden anyway. You’ll do a much better job than him, that’s what I trained you for anyway.”

Adora had no idea how to react to that. It certainly wasn’t anything she had expected to hear from General Shadow Weaver. She was still looking for words to reply but her superior was already excusing herself and basically vanished right after. How she could just appear out of nowhere and disappear like she was never there to begin with sometimes really creeped Adora out. Okay, to be honest, Shadow Weaver almost always creeped her out but she couldn’t really think like that about the only parental figure she ever had, could she? Unlike Catra, she never had any other family. She had basically been born into the Fire Nation’s military. Her friend however wasn’t brought to the General until she had been around eight years old. Before that she had been living with a travelling circus, not knowing her birth-parents either but at least having have had some kind of belonging among all these other outcasts. But the crew eventually got disbanded after most of them had been drafted for the military. During yet another draft the rest of them ran away, leaving Catra behind, abandoned. So all the soldiers found was this kid with nowhere to go. Since Shadow Weaver already took in an orphan to train they send Catra to her as well. It wasn’t easy growing up under the strict General, for either of the friends, which is also why Adora was still kind of shocked by her sudden promotion. But for Catra it was definitely worse. Especially with the other soldier children who were living in the camp picking on her all the time because of her different eyes, her size, her background… calling her “circus freak” and way worse things Adora didn’t want to think about right now. Or ever. That is one of the reasons she took on the role of protecting Catra despite being almost two years younger. Catra was the only real family she ever had and she’d be damned if anything happened to her.

That’s when it hit her. Shadow Weaver didn’t say anything about the other cadets. Does that mean only Adora was sent to another division? What about Catra? She couldn’t do this without her and she certainly couldn’t leave her here what if-

“Hey, earth to Adora! You okay there, princess? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Adora jumped back in surprise.

“Holy fuck, Catra, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Woah, calm down, I didn’t mean to scare you”, Catra held up her hands defensively. “I was waiting for you outside but you never came, so I thought I’d go check up on you. And then I found you here, completely zoning out. Apparently having forgotten all about me ‘cause Miss Oh-So-Important had a private audience with the General.” She rolled her eyes dramatically but Adora knew she was only fake-complaining. 

“No need to worry, I’m fine. She only wanted to talk that is all.”

“Wha- No- I wasn’t worried or anything! You were just late and I told you not to be late. Now get your ass moving, we have somewhere to be.” With that Catra turned on her heel and headed straight for the exit. Adora could see her neck turning bright red. Yeah, she totally hadn’t been worried. It was kind of cute how she tried so hard to act like she didn’t care. But Adora decided not to push it. She knew that her best friend cared about her just as much as it was the other way around. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t admit it. She just had her own way of showing it.

* * *

And that way apparently included a stolen hot-air balloon.

“Borrowed”, Catra corrected her. “We’re gonna bring it back later.”

“What do you mean _we_?”

“Stop asking questions and just get in.” And with that Adora got picked up and quite literally thrown into the basket of the balloon. Sometimes she forgot how strong the smaller girl actually was. Not that Adora would’ve been much taller, really, but still… it was quite impressive. And it hurt.

“Ow… if you wanna kill me, please, just end it now, before we’re like a hundred feet from the ground.”

That earned her a cocky smile from Catra. “Why? Are you scared of heights now, princess?”

She winked at Adora and jump in behind her, starting up the flames right after. Adora could feel her cheeks turning red. From the heat, of course, and certainly not because that wink left her mind blanking for a moment. At least if she kept telling herself that, she wouldn’t have to deal with… whatever this was she was feeling.

“No! I mean, maybe, but that’s just because- like-” She kept stumbling over her words. Shit.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! You know I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you. And as long as we’re together, everything is going to be just fine, remember?” She felt Catra’s hand on her arm and looked up. There was nothing but fondness in her best friend’s eyes.

_Damn, those eyes… in the light of the flames they looked even more beautiful…_

Wait, what the hell was she thinking? This was wrong on so many levels. Even if relationships among soldiers weren’t prohibited… even if they weren’t both girls… she just couldn’t do this to their friendship. Not now, not ever. So she turned away.

“How do I deserve this, uh, surprise anyway? What’s the occasion?”, Adora tried to break the awkwardness. Or maybe it was just her feeling awkward. Catra at least didn’t seem to notice her unease.

“Your promotion, duh!” Again this smile that only ever felt genuine when it was just the two of them. Or maybe Adora was imagining things.

“Wait a second, how do you know about that? I’ve only known for, like, a few hours now?”

Catra’s smile only grew wider. “Well… I may have snuck into one or the other council session to play mouse and maybe overheard your name. Couldn’t miss out on the gossip, ya know.”

“You hate gossip. And mice for a matter of fact.”

That earned Adora a groan. “Ugh, do you always have to be such a smartass? I’m trying to do something nice here!”

“I know. And I do appreciate it a lot”, she took both of Catra’s hands in hers. “So... thank you.”

That for once made Catra be the one to blush. “It- It’s no big deal, really…”

 _How could she possibly be this cute?_

Biting her tongue, Adora tried to shake that thought off and looked around. Neither of them had really been paying attention to the flame or how far up they had already gotten. Definitely too far for her liking. She gulped.

“Hey Adora, look over here! The view is just _amazing_!” Reluctantly she turned towards the edge of the basket where Catra was standing. Almost instinctively she grabbed her hand to steady herself a bit. She really was afraid of heights, especially since that one incident during pilot practice… but Catra’s presence calmed her down enough that she dared to actually take a look. The view really was absolutely stunning. They could see the entire island from here, the lights of the camps beneath looked as if they were imitating the stars far above. She turned her head and watched Catra laugh while the rising wind blew back her already messy, wild hair. That vision completely enchanted Adora.

That was when it hit her. Literally. A gust of the stronger growing wind threw her back against the opposite rail, separating her from her friend.

“Oh crap. Shit. I mean. Fuck!” Catra was frantically trying to fidget with the flame while cursing out the balloon. “We’re way too high, fuck. I’m so sorry, Adora, let me just-” Another gust hit the basket.

Adora couldn’t hear her finish that sentence. She was already falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... this is it, we're trying this ATLA AU thing. I never actually posted stories I've been writing before and this is my first time writing a fanfiction per se, so maybe don't be too hard on me but do honestly tell me what you think? I'd appreciate it a lot! :D  
> Not making any promises on consistent updates BUT I do intend to finish this at one point or the other. With what I have in mind it actually might get quite long but we will see.
> 
> Aaaanyway - I do hope you enjoyed this first chapter!
> 
> (and yes - the title is from the song Noelle quoted for that heartbreaking sketch a while back)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage shenanigans on the south pole

“Glimmer, wait up! Where are we even going? Glimmer!”

Bow could just never keep up with her. How could someone with such short legs be so freaking fast? And it wasn’t like Bow just lacked stamina or anything. In fact he made sure to exercise daily despite the amount of studying he had to do. His fathers wanted him to become a spirit guide for the tribe some day just like his papa, Lance. And that included  _ a lot _ of historical and spiritual lessons every day.

“Shush, I told you to be quiet. Now just hurry up!” Despite her attempt at whispering, he could hear the excitement in Glimmer’s voice. Which told him they were definitely up for trouble. Again.

“You just said you’re on a mission, grabbed my hand and dragged me along. How was I supposed to know that this included keeping a low profile!” They came to a sudden halt next to a tent just outside the settlement, hidden behind a small hill. Bow almost crashed into the smaller girl who was just rolling her eyes at his comment.

“It was implied, obviously. Now, you know that I love you with all my heart, Bow. But for the moon’s sake, please, shut up. I’m trying to hear what they’re saying in there.”

And with that Glimmer went silent herself, carefully getting closer to the tent fabric with her ear. Bow just sat down silently beside her, facing the other direction in order to keep an eye out for anyone who may be approaching them. He wasn’t quite sure what they were listing in on but he knew that if it was all the way out here, it definitely wasn’t meant for their ears. And if they got caught, his dads would never let them leave this one down, not after they found out about them sneaking out to the abandoned ship on the southern shore of the ice island. Or was it technically another northern shore? How did cardinal directions work exactly on the poles themselves? That’s not really something you learn in How To Train Your Spirits 101. That made him smirk.

_ Gotta tell Glimmer about that later. How To Train Your Spirits 101. Hilarious! _

Glimmer and Bow had been best friends basically since they were born. They told each other everything. Their parents had been best friends, so they grew up together and despite the two year difference also really close. Especially since Bow’s dads adopted her after… well… after Glimmer’s parents got killed during an attack by the Fire Nation 10 years ago. They had send soldiers to kill every last waterbender in the tribe. Many of the Southern Water Tribe’s warriors died trying to defend their people, among them their chief and Glimmer’s father Micah. And her mother Angella, too… she sacrificed herself, lying to the Fire Nation soldiers about her identity during the raid, in order to protect the last remaining waterbender: her own daughter. Glimmer had only been six years old when she watched her mother getting killed.

After that one attack so long ago, they never came back. With the small settlement not being a potential threat anymore and the area around it being useless to them, there was no reason to. But their tribe certainly wasn’t safe. The occupation of what used to be the Southern Air Temple leaves the Fire Nation’s borders just a polar bear dog’s jump away. The thought of what happened to the air nomads over a hundred years ago now made Bow shudder in horror every time.

When the last Avatar disappeared, Fire Lord Sozin wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t be reborn and be able to challenge his power again. So, knowing that if Avatar Roku really had died, the next in line would be an air nomad, he used the power of a mighty comet to wipe out every single one of them. And they succeeded. It was a total genocide. No one saw an airbender again. Ever. And neither did the Avatar return to bring peace to a war ridden world.

_ Not yet at least. We can’t lose hope. _

Deep in thought still, he hadn’t even noticed the dark figure approaching them in the distance. Until now. Crap. They had to get away before whoever was coming towards them would recognize them. He started pulling on Glimmer’s coat, trying to direct her attention to the shadow ahead.

“Yeah, yeah, we can leave in a sec, I know you hate the cold. Unlucky considering the arctic weather around he-” Bow didn’t let her finish and pulled her down into the snow with him. Ignoring her muffled complaints, he tried making out the figure from before again. He squinted. It had started snowing in the meantime which made it a bit harder to see but Bow was sure he hadn’t just been imagining things. So where did it go?

When someone started laughing behind them, the friends both jerked up.

“Of course it’s you two. Who else would voluntarily sit out here in the dark just to listen in on some old men telling stories about better times?” Still laughing, Lance just shook his head at them.

Bow groaned but smiled back at him nonetheless. “And of course it had to be you of all people to catch us red handed, Papa. Well, at least it wasn’t Dad…”

“You’re right, George can get terribly furious at you kids. But it’s all just because he loves you so much, you know?” Lance turned to softly smile at Glimmer. “Both of you.”

Glimmer still didn’t look up. “I’m sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again.”

“Oh Glimmer, we both know that it definitely will happen again. That’s alright, though, you’re young, you’re supposed to get into trouble once in a while. But, please, don’t call me Sir again - that makes me feel way too old. Besides, we’re family!” Still no reaction from her. He sighed. “Well, anyway… let’s head home together then, shall we?”

* * *

Back home in their room - which really was just an igloo next to Bow’s dads’ igloo - Glimmer still stayed silent. Which was rather weird for the else so feisty girl. Lance had promised not to tell his husband about their shenanigans of the day, so that couldn’t be what was on her mind. Not that there would’ve been anything to worry about from George either way. Sometimes his other father could seem very cold and strict but he cared deeply and had a heart of gold. No, something else must be stressing her out. But Bow knew better than to push her to talk. So he just waited patiently and watched her walk up and down the small room until she finally came to a hold.

“They are such cowards, the whole bunch of them!” She threw up her arms in frustration. “They call themselves a war council but Lance is right! It’s just some stone old dudes whining about their lost youth. And doing nothing about the here and now. Fucking cowards!”

“Hey, hey, no reason to become offensive. We’re all just trying to do our best to help the community and so are they. Besides-” 

She cut him off. “And how exactly is doing absolutely fucking nothing helping the tribe? The Fire Nation’s borders are right outside our doors! You think that’s going to be enough for them in the long run? And what about all the other people suffering under their rule? This war isn’t something we can just sit out and keep a clear conscience.”

“I know. And you know that I agree with everything you just said.” He gave her a crooked smile. “But yelling about old men in a tent won’t really change how things are either.”

“You are absolutely right, my friend!” He could see the mischievous sparkle in Glimmer’s eyes. Oh no. 

He sighed. This girl was gonna be the death of him some day. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well… we can’t really do anything before we gain more intel. So, I suggest we go borrow old Bobo’s fisher boat and see what’s out there.” 

“You want to steal a boat so you can spy on the freaking Fire Nation? Are you out of your mind?!”

As always, Glimmer just rolled her eyes at him. “I said borrow. And would you mind lowering your voice? Your dads are gonna hear us. And don’t worry! We’re gonna be in and out before anyone even notices we were gone in the first place.”

Bow sighed in defeat. There really was no point in arguing with her. If he didn’t come, Glimmer would just head out alone. And most likely get hurt or caught or worse. Not that his presence would change much but at least they were doing it together, right?

“Alright, you win. But just in and out, no detours, no unnecessary dangers. Promise?”

She almost knocked him over when hugging him. “I promise! Bow, you’re the best!”

And with that they were off to their most self-destructive mission yet. Or at least that’s what Bow thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that the Fall TM has to be delayed but we first we gotta introduce Best Boy Bow and Teenage Rebel Glimmer for... reasons.
> 
> PS: I'm kinda still looking for a Beta or two so if you're interested in this story and wanna help out (and get Ch. 3 like, right now), hmu? <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra is hurting. Adora is falling. This is not a pun.

_ Catra. _

That was the only thing on Adora’s mind as her body was rapidly falling closer towards the ice cold sea below her. If the impact alone didn’t kill her, she would probably freeze to death. It wasn’t that Adora was a bad swimmer, to the contrary in fact. But this close to the southern pole the waters were unforgiving. She felt weirdly calm. As if it wasn’t her falling into certain death. As if she were watching someone else acting out her life in a play. A version of her life that could not possibly be true.

She saw Catra screaming for her, repeating her name over and over. Not that Adora could actually hear any of her words. The wind passing by during the fall was way too loud for any other noise to get past. But she just knew. She would be doing the same. Because what else was there to do?

_ Catra. Catra, Catra, Catra, Catra. _

Her name kept repeating in her head as if that would bring her back to her, save her from drowning in ice. Catra. She couldn’t leave her behind like this. Adora had promised to never leave her side. And then she fell out of a fucking hot air balloon. Leaving her best friend behind. Alone. And with the guilt of her death weighing on her shoulders. She knew Catra would never forgive herself for that.

_ But it wasn’t your fault. I didn’t pay attention either. I let go of your hand, I didn’t hold on...  _

It couldn’t end like this. She couldn’t do this to Catra. And falling out of a balloon must be one of the dumbest ways to die. Slowly, Adora was regaining her senses, now feeling the cold cutting deep into her skin. She hadn’t even been wearing her uniform jacket when they went off to their trip. Good. More wet clothes would only slow her down on her way back to the islands. The faster she got out of the water, the higher her chances of actually surviving this. Now she only had to make sure to not actually break her neck when diving into the sea. The surface would be hard as stone with how fast she was falling.

She struggled to turn her body in the air so she would face what was ahead of her and not land on her flat back. That way she would certainly break something, eliminating any chance of making it to the land. To safety. She only needed the right angle and everything would be fine. She could do this.

But when Adora finally managed to turn around, she was merely inches away from the deep, black surface. Instinctively she threw up her arms in front of her face, closing her eyes shut tight, despite knowing that it all would be useless.

* * *

“We’re way too high, fuck. I’m so sorry, Adora, let me just steady this thing and then we’ll go back down. Shit. I’m so sorry.” Catra finally had managed to bring the flames under control again and turned around to see how Adora was holding up. But the other girl was just… gone. 

Catra’s eyes grew wide in horror. “No…”

That first word after the realization of what had happened was merely a whisper. In a mere fraction of a second she was already at the rail where Adora had been standing just until now. Screaming her name over and over. The tone of her voice changing from fear to desperation to pure agony. Waiting for an answer. Knowing there would be none, could be none. Adora was gone.

_ I killed her. _

Her mind went blank. All there was left was pain. Her best friend, her family, her life was falling into certain death. And it was all her fault. How could she have been so fucking stupid? Stealing an air balloon and going on an unauthorized trip… who in their right mind does that? 

Catra put her arms around herself in a clinch, digging her sharp nails deep into her skin. She’s never been in her right mind, has she? At least that what everyone else has been telling her all along. Everyone had always called her crazy and insane and worse… except for Adora. Who was now dead. The one person who never treated her like dirt, like she was worthless… the one person who actually cared for her… and she had killed her. She felt like throwing up.

And she did. Several times. All the while the flames started to slowly die down and the balloon moved closer towards the ground again.

_ It should have been me. Not her. I should be the one on the ground of the fucking ocean right now and she should be here. She was the good one… the one who deserved to live… not me. _

Hot tears fell down Catra’s face. The sound of her throbbing heart was drowning out everything else around her. She started to feel like she couldn’t breathe. Maybe that would be for the best. If she just stopped breathing. Then she couldn’t hurt any more people with her stupid, self-destructive decisions.

She had been well aware that they were going to get in trouble for this. And of course she had known that Adora was afraid of heights. She dragged her along anyway. Or maybe exactly because of that. Catra wasn’t even sure anymore. Did she just want to help Adora get over her fear before getting send out into battle for the first time, like she kept telling herself? Or did she hope for them to get caught and punished only so that she wouldn’t be left behind again?

It didn’t matter anymore. She had killed her best friend. And she would have to live with that burden for the rest of her life. When the basket crashed into the trees beneath her, she didn’t do anything. She had already given up, she didn’t care what happened to her now.

But of course destiny wouldn’t be so kind to her and just end it right there. Not like she deserved it anyway. Every inch of her body hurt from the impact but she didn’t suffer any serious injuries as far as she could tell. Though when Catra tried to get up, a piercing pain shot up her arm, sending her back to the ground. Fuck. Her wrist was probably broken. Or at least sprained. Whatever. That was something she could worry about later. Right now the only thing that mattered was Adora. She had to get to the shore, just in case that her friend had  _ somehow _ miraculously survived. And if she hadn’t… Catra tried to shake that thought off. Holding on to that slim hope she had somehow found within her, she forced herself to get up this time around. 

It felt like an eternity had passed until she made it out of the woods. But as soon as she could see the sea - or rather the black void it became at night - she started running directly towards the nothing in front of her. Or rather she stumbled there. Just before the edge of the water, she stopped. Pressing her injured hand to her core, she took in a sharp, deep breath. The fear was paralyzing her. Ever since she had been a little kid, Catra had been afraid of water. No one really knew why, not even herself. And she never learned how to swim either…

_ Fuck that. Fuck it. Adora needs me now. If she’s still out there- _

She didn’t even let herself finish that thought before walking straight ahead into the shallows. Screaming out her friend’s name. Looking out for her blonde, almost golden hair amongst the ink black waves. Adora was out there. She had to be. And Catra would find her no matter what. Or she would die trying.

* * *

Adora was awaiting the impact, awaiting the pain but… nothing happened.

Had all of this maybe just been a dream? And when she opened her eyes now she would wake up, back in her bed with Catra sleeping curled up at her feet like nothing ever happened? Or... was she maybe already dead and didn’t know?

_ Well… only one way to find out. 3... 2.. 1… _

She slowly opened her eyes. Looking directly at the waves in front of her. Or rather, beneath her. It was as if she was hovering just above the sea’s surface. Wait… was she actually hovering over it? She gasped in shock and confusion. And immediately fell down into the water. Which was cold. Very, very cold. So cold in fact that Adora felt it’s burn deep into her bones. How could she ever have thought that she would be able to swim back to the shore? Be able to swim at all? She was going to drown out here, alone, and no one would ever even find her corpse. She started to panic but didn’t even have the strength to try and catch her breath.

But before she could sink into the abyssal sea, Adora could feel strong hands grabbing her by the arms, pulling her up and out of the water. 

“What in the world are you  _ doing _ ? She could kill us! I swear by the spirits if she kills us, I will haunt your ghost ass for eternity!”

Where was that shrill voice coming from? Was she already hallucinating from the lack of air under water?

“Glimmer, she is going to die if we don’t help her!” Another voice. Deeper. Warm. Calming like a cool summer breeze. “Hey, you okay there?”

Now that second voice was addressing her. Adora felt a warm touch on her cheek before someone put something over her. Blankets maybe? Or furs? Whatever it was, it’s warmth slowly brought her numb limbs back to life. She groaned in pain as the blood started pumping through her frozen veins again. But it also felt good. Because the pain meant that she was still alive, that she could actually still survive all of this.

When she slowly opened her eyes to see where she was and who had saved her, she saw a short, pink haired girl towering over her, watching her with hate in her eyes.

“Oh great, she’s awake. So, tell me, Blondie - who the  _ hell _ are you and why the  _ fuck _ can you airbend?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what to tell you other than that it hurt writing this


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer is being hostile, while Bow is being best boy as always. Catra is desperate.

“So, tell me, Blondie - who the  _ hell _ are you and why the  _ fuck _ can you airbend?”

Even though the girl was basically barking this at Adora, her voice still went up several octaves while doing so. Adora was already feeling way too dizzy and disorientated, a headache from this shrill yelling was the last thing she needed right now. But at least she wasn’t going to freeze to death thanks to… whoever the other person on the tiny boat was. She turned her head carefully as far as she could to look at her rescuer. 

“Thank you… for saving me.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. She bit her own tongue for that. Now these strangers would think she was weak, an easy target.

But the boy in front of her just gave a big, warm smile. “Of course, no need to thank us! I’m just glad Glimmer and I were in the right place at the right-”

His companion - Glimmer apparently - cut him of. “Bow, stop it! We don’t know if we can trust her yet. And we’re on a mission, remember?”

“Well, we don’t know if we can not trust her yet either, right? And right now she needs our help so… that should be our priority at the moment?”

Adora just watched them argue in silence. Who knew what they would end up doing with her, so she had to preserve her energy. And come up with a plan. After already almost drowning once, swimming back was out of the question. Obviously. So she would need those two. Or at least their boat. If it had been only the boy, Bow, she would have just asked to be brought back. But this Glimmer person seemed to only see her as a potential threat or an enemy even. Was she maybe part of a rebellious underground organization like the ones Shadow Weaver had always warned them about? That didn’t make any sense, though, at least not here. In the Earth Kingdom troops had been struggling with that for a while but even there the resistance had died down. And they were on the south pole right now. There had been peace with the Water Tribe here for around ten years now. After all the improvements the Fire Nation must have brought to them in that time period, surely no one here had any reason to be hostile towards them. So what the hell was her deal?

Determined to find out, Adora cleared her throat to get the two’s attention. It worked, they actually stopped arguing and were now looking at her. Crap, what now? She was getting really anxious all of a sudden.

“Hi- I mean- Hey, I’m Adora! To answer your question- your question from before you know?” 

Why was she like this? Adora really could not handle attention well. But she had to say something now before they ended up deciding to just throw her back into the sea. 

“Anyway, uhm, maybe we could continue this conversation on- on land? I- I’d feel much more comfortable with that.” She gave them an awkward smile. A trained soldier who couldn’t even talk to strangers… Adora could bet that Catra would have gotten out of this situation in a heartbeat.

Glimmer looked like she was trying to figure out whether or not this was a trap but before she could say anything Bow already jumped to Adora’s side. “Of course, that’s a great idea actually! It’s freezing out here and wouldn’t it be way better to get to know each other over a hot meal?”

“I guess you have a point.”, Glimmer admitted reluctantly. 

Bow practically beamed at that. “Great, then let’s head back home. Oh, Adora was it, right? You are going to love my papa’s stew, it’s the best! Leaves you with a tummy full of warmth and love.”

Glimmer groaned. “Lance and George are going to kill us if they find out that we stole a freaking boat… we should make sure they do NOT see her. Or notice how you sneak in their igloo to get food.”

“I thought you said this was only borrowing?”, Bow replied amused.

Watching their bickering while getting the boat to move reminded Adora a lot of herself and Catra. They must be really close like them then. She smiled for a second but the thought also made her heart feel heavy. Catra must be worried sick at this moment and Adora had no way to contact her. To let her know she was okay. And that she would come back to her just like she had promised. 

* * *

Catra had been searching for hours. Running - or rather stumbling - through the shallow water, screaming for Adora, trying to make out any life sign in the pitch black void in front of her. The sea and the sky had looked like one, she could barely make out the horizon separating them. It was no use. But she kept going anyway, got up every time she fell into the water until she couldn’t anymore. Lying on the shore, her lower body still in the freezing water, she kept calling out for her best friend. At least she tried to. When guards from one of the other military camps found her, she was still mumbling her name despite barely having the energy left to breathe even.

When she woke up in the infirmary, she had no memory of how she got there. Or any idea how long she had been passed out. All she knew was that she had to get up and out there again. If Adora was still out there, every minute mattered. Maybe she could get some of the other cadets together for a rescue mission? They were assholes but they all always really liked Adora… even if they hated Catra, they’d do it for her friend, right? They just had to. They-

“So you are awake. It was about time.” Shadow Weaver’s icy voice cut off her trail of thought. “And I already thought that I would lose two soldiers to your immeasurable stupidity. Sadly, the wrong one came back. What a shame.”

Catra didn’t even attempt to object. The general was right after all. Adora should be here now, not her. Adora was the good one, the golden child. Catra on the other hand… she was nothing. Not without Adora. That’s why she so desperately needed to get her back. And why admitting that it was most likely already gone hurt even more...

After what felt like an eternity of painful silence, Shadow Weaver continued. “Anyway, there have been reports of a Water Tribe canoe near our shores. An offence that breaches our treaty with them.”

Catra didn’t understand why Shadow Weaver was telling her all this. She never told them anything, so why start now? I didn’t matter, though. After what happened Catra would probably never see the sunlight again, rotting away in some military prison. The general had wanted to get rid of her since the day the soldiers had brought her to her doorstep. Now she had the perfect excuse. It’s not like Catra deserved anything else but still…

“All our officers are in the field right now. Which is why you will lead a team and find the culprits. If they refuse to give them up, burn the settlement down. There is no point in keeping them around anyway.”

Catra was completely taken aback by this. “Me? But what about- Why-”

“Stop asking questions and just follow orders. By Sozin, have you not learned anything in all these years?” The general sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Even you can’t be stupid enough to mess this up. You’ll be taking up Adora’s position as officer until you get notified otherwise. Bring me whoever was on that boat and then we’ll see what happens with you.”

With that being said, Shadow Weaver disappeared. Leaving a more than confused Catra behind. She had fucked up. Majorly. And for that… she was getting promoted? Nothing about this made sense. Maybe this was another one of Shadow Weaver’s cruel mind games. Or maybe she had never cared about Adora either. There should be a search party out there, not a team chasing after a stupid boat!

Wait. There had a boat been out there that night. Could it be… could they have found Adora? Could she really still be alive? Is that why she was actually being send there? Did it even really matter why?

_ I’m coming to get you, Adora. And everything will be okay again. We’ll be together again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is pretty short and I'm kinda late but it's still sunday! So, happy birthday to our favourite lil lesbian jock Adora!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's tension in the igloo. Not the good kind.  
> Catra gets seasick and depressed.
> 
> CW: mention of suicidal thoughts

They had finally made it back home and Bow felt like he was starving. Of course he would always support Glimmer but next time they definitely had to plan in snack breaks before heading off for hours. His dads did wake up when he snuck into their igloo to get the leftover stew and were kind of astonished at the amount of food he was trying to carry out. But they accepted his lame excuse of how boys just needed more in their teenage years. Or at least so people say. Honestly, they were probably just glad that their son wasn’t complaining again about how much of the diet among their tribe consisted of fish. Which really was a problem although Bow understood that there really was no way around it if humans wanted to survive in the icy tundra.

When he walked back into the room Glimmer and him were sharing, he found that the situation there hadn’t changed much since he left. The girl they had fished out of the sea was still sitting upright on his bed, her hands provisionally tied to the bedpost, her eyes stoically fixating a point on the opposite side of the room. While Glimmer was standing in front of her, hands on her hips and repeating the same questions over and over.

“Who are you? What were you doing out there? How the hell did you survive that fall? Were you spying on us?” He could hear how she was growing more and more frustrated. 

So he decided to intervene for a bit. “Okay, who’s ready for Papa’s famous fish stew? I think we could all use a break right now.”

Glimmer took one of the bowls out of his hands. “Fine. Our captive over here refuses to talk anyway.”

“I believe she said her name was Adora. And why exactly do we have to keep her tied up again? There is really no reason to treat her like a prisoner, she barely survived out there. Speaking of-”, he stopped shortly and turned towards the blonde girl in question. “I brought enough food for all of us. You really should be eating after all you went through tonight.”

At first she looked like she was going to refuse the offer but when her stomach started rumbling, she just averted her gaze in embarrassment and mumbled a reply. “That would be great actually… thank you.” 

“Oh, so Blondie can talk? Good to fucking know.” Glimmer shot an angry look at the girl. “Why was that so fucking hard before?”

“Well, I literally just survived a fall from a few hundred or so meters high and then got captured by some random teenagers, so take your guesses”, Adora replied kind of snappishly. Then she turned to Bow and added softer: “You also could’ve just left me to die. But you didn’t. So, thank you. Again.”

That earned her a smile from the boy. “Nevermind that. Now, let me get those ropes off, so that you can actually eat something.”

Glimmer grabbed his shoulder. “Uhm, Bow? What the hell are you doing? What if she runs off or attacks us?”

“Where would she even go? You know as well as I do that it is basically impossible for outsiders to find their way around here, plus she is not exactly dressed for winter wonderland out there. And she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would just attack the people who saved her from freezing to death. Am I right, Adora?” The girl nodded eagerly at Bow’s words.

“Whatever. But after she’s done eating, the ties go back on.”

Bow was a bit taken aback that his friend seemed to give in so easily but he would not question it. He felt like this could be a first step to becoming friends with this stranger instead of having this weird captor and captive dynamic. Which wasn’t really working anyway since if they were being honest, neither Bow or Glimmer were very intimidating to begin with. They were eating in silence for a while until Bow decided to speak up about the one thing that actually has been bugging him since they found the other girl out on the sea.

“Hey, uhm, Adora?”, he started and got a muffled ‘yeah’ from her in between bites. “Well, so… how did you survive that fall? I mean you were talking about a few hundred meters earlier… but you don’t even have a scratch.”

She slowly put her bowl down at that. “I- I actually don’t know what exactly happened. Or well… I’m not- I’m not quite sure? I remember how I was falling and then suddenly… I wasn’t anymore.”

Bow could hear Glimmer huff next to him. “Well, if I didn’t know it any better, I would say it looked like you were stopping the fall by airbending. But as well all know, the Fire Nation killed every last air nomad over a hundred years ago. So that is out of the question.”

“Killed? There was a plague… Fire Lord Sozin tried to help them, he certainly didn’t kill such a peaceful folk!” The outrage in Adora’s voice seemed genuine. Did she really believe that that is what happened? But who would even tell her such a distorted version of history? Unless…

“You’re from the Fire Nation, aren’t you?” Bow’s words were more of an assessment rather than an actual question. 

Glimmer’s eyes grew wide. “You mean… we brought in a firebender and you made me untie her? Are you insane?!” Bow watch how she immediately jumped up and grabbed the girl’s arms to put her back into her early position. To both of their surprise, Adora did not put up a struggle while she was tied back to the bedpost.

Bow tilted his head at the scene in front of him. “You’re… You’re still not fighting us? Why?”

Adora shrugged. “Well, I don’t think the general would be too pleased if I broke the peace treaty with the Water Tribe over a simple misunderstanding. Which this obviously is, you guys seem way too nice to be part of any rebellious group.”

“There isn’t any group to be part of around here anymore since your people murdered everyone who resisted their fascist rule”, Glimmer hissed at her.

No reply this time. But Bow could see the anger in Adora’s eyes. And… confusion? Or was it hurt? He didn’t know at this point but he could tell that Glimmer’s words cut deep. Maybe she really had no idea how things were. Maybe she did actually believe that the Fire Nation was on the side of good in this war… could their propaganda really run this deep?

“Nothing to say anymore now that you know your lies won’t work on us, hm?” That was Glimmer again. “You’re really lucky that were not just some mindless drones like your soldiers. And that we don’t just kill random people on sight like you fire-throwing shitheads do.”

Adora seemed to grow a whole lot smaller while Glimmer was speaking. She now had her knees drawn up to her chin, staring into the air in front of her, kind of apathetically. Bow thought she would start crying any second now but in the end she didn’t. He still felt the need to intervene before his best friend could throw another rant at the poor girl’s head. Whether she really was their enemy or not, she’s been through enough for one day - and night - and didn’t need any more blame for things she probably had no control over. So he put his hand on Glimmer’s shoulder and shook his head at her right when she was about to speak up yet again.

“I think that’s enough for one night. And we’re all pretty beat. How about we go sleep and continue this… interrogation… in the morning?” He gave Adora a small, sympathetic smile but she didn’t seem to notice him at all.

Glimmer just sighed. “Fuck. Okay. You’re probably right. I’m way too angry to think straight right now anyway. But tomorrow we find out what the hell this fucking spy wants.”

* * *

Catra hated travelling by ship. Like really,  _ really  _ hated it. But transporting a whole division via an air balloon was near to impossible and Shadow Weaver certainly wouldn’t have allowed her to take one of the bigger air ships. Not that she would have been too fond of the idea of flying at the moment anyway… not with what happened last time. She felt like throwing up at that thought. Or maybe it was the ever present sea sickness that kept tantalizing her. Probably an even mixture of both. Fuck. She really hated being on ships.

_ Get it together, asshole. You’re here for Adora, how your stupid stomach feels doesn’t fucking matter. _

After taking a deep breath, she pushed herself up from the reiling she’s been clinging on to for most of the ride. Catra hoped that it wasn’t too obvious to the other soldiers how hard this had been for her. To make sure that they’d leave her alone she had snapped at anyone who came even near her. It would be better if they took her for a complete dick of an officer than think she was weak. Weakness was unacceptable, especially if it could get back to Shadow Weaver. For the most part it actually worked and soon enough everyone seemed to be avoiding her. That was, everyone except for one person. The ever so annoying other officer that the general sent along with her. Probably thought Catra needed a babysitter. Stupid bitch. The anger about her patronizing guardian and supervisor made her almost forget how sick she felt.

“Hey, Catra!” Speaking of the devil. Of course it was officer… what was her name again? Scorpia?

She groaned but turned around to face her. “What the hell do you want now?”

“I know, I know. You told me to get lost. But I thought I’d let you know that we’re almost ready to land! Isn’t it exciting? It’s the first mission for both of us!” How could she just always be so cheerful about literally everything? Catra just didn’t get it.

She only gave Scorpia a nod to signal that she had understood before leaving without another word. The other girl was just too much to handle for her right now and she really needed to keep a clear head right now. Everything had to run smoothly so she would have enough time to look for Adora. Adora… if she was still alive she had to have been on that canoe last night. Unless those Water Tribe people didn’t think long when seeing a Fire Nation soldier and threw her back into the water to drown. Catra clenched her teeth at that thought. If Adora only had so much as a scratch on her when she found her, she would burn that fucking village to the ground instantly. She’d only be following orders, too, so the general couldn’t say shit. 

_ I really just hope she’s okay, though… if not, I might as well just burn myself down with them...  _

The possibility alone of her best friend being hurt made her immediately feel sick again. Especially since it was her fault. Right now Catra was only clinging to this small hope that that boat having been out there gave her. Even though she knew that it had to have been a miracle if Adora survived that fall let alone without any serious injuries… but she couldn’t let herself think about that at the moment. She had to keep going. She couldn’t give up on Adora, not without being certain. And then she could still throw herself off the fucking ship on their way back. 

The shouts from the crew pulled her out of those sinister thoughts. They finally arrived on land again. She let out a sigh of relief. At last she’d get her feet back on solid ground and would have things to do so her mind would be kept occupied. As much as she hated being around anyone who wasn’t Adora, she was very much aware how being alone for too long would also have her end up with such intrusive thoughts. But at least she was self-aware, right? And her mind was already a way too dark place as it was anyway. No need to feed into that even more.

“There you are! And I thought you’d leave without me!” A strong slap on her back almost knocked her over. Catra was still trying to catch her breath when Scorpia pulled her in for a tight hug. “Oh, we’re gonna make such a great team, I just know it!”

That hug really wasn’t helping with that air situation. “Ca- Can’t- breathe-”

“Oh, oh my, I’m so sorry!” Scorpia let her go immediately and took a step back. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to- you know- I was just so excited!”

Catra just waved her off while taking a few deep breaths. “It’s- it’s like whatever. Just try to remember the concept of personal space next time, got it?”

“Got it, boss!” Scorpia’s always enthusiastic smile was really insufferable. And was she… blushing?

Catra decided to better just ignore her ‘teammate’ for the rest of the mission. Finding the boatspeople and with them possibly Adora was way too important to get distracted by Scorpia’s shenanigans. They got off the ship followed by a small squad of soldiers. The rest of them she ordered to stay behind until informed otherwise by her. No one questioned her instructions. Fuck, it felt kinda good to be actually listened to for once. Maybe this officer position wasn’t so bad after all. If only Shadow Weaver wasn’t breathing down her neck all the time…

When they made it to the Water Tribe settlement, Catra first thought it to have been abandoned. Which would have made sense, the villagers probably saw the smoke of their ship from miles away. But she could feel eyes watching her. They were hiding. So they knew they fucked up? Well, that would make this easier for her. She signaled the others to halt and rose her voice.

“People of the Southern Water Tribe!” Catra spoke loudly but made sure not to shout. “Last night someone here sailed into our territory. Their boat was sighted just before our shores. That means you breached our generous peace treaty. Hand over the culprits now-” A quick step and punch to the side and she send a blast to the nearest tent. Now lighting up in flames. “-or suffer the consequences.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flameo my people! Just wanna let you know that there will be no update this Sunday due to me moving to Slovenia this weekend!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape and reunion, part I.

Adora couldn’t have been sleeping for long when shouts from outside pulled her out of her sleep. How she even managed to fall asleep in the position the two Water Tribe kids left her in she honestly didn’t know. The events from the day before must have left her even more exhausted than she had originally thought. And they had been hunting her in her sleep as well. The feeling of falling into a never ending void… unable to move or scream for help… She tried to shake the memory of her nightmares off. There were more important things to concentrate on right now. Like figuring out what the hell was going on and how to get back to her camp. To Catra.

As the voices outside grew closer, her two captors finally woke up as well.

“What’s the matter out there?”, Bow yawned more than he said the words. His eyes still half closed he didn’t seem like he intended to actually move to find out.

Glimmer however got up instantly. “Shit. Shit shit shit shit. What do we do?”

“What are you even talking about?” Bow seemed to be a bit more awake now but still rather confused and sleepy.

Adora however knew exactly what the pink haired girl was referring to. “Well, I suggest you get out there, now, before anyone comes in here to get you and sees that you’re keeping an innocent person basically as a prisoner.”

“Shut the fuck up, Blondie, no one asked you”, Glimmer basically spit the words at her. Then she turned her attention to her friend. “Bow, get up, we have to go find out what’s wrong out there. But make sure to check the knots again first, we can’t risk that Fire Nation shit getting away.”

She shot Adora one last icy look before heading outside. Adora knew it was childish but she couldn’t help but stick her tongue out after her. She was still convinced that both of them were harmless but what a bitch.

“Hey, don’t let her get to you”, that was Bow addressing her now after finally getting out of bed. “I know Glimmer can be… intense to say the least. But she doesn’t mean it. She’s just worried for our people, that’s all.”

Adora gave him a look that made clear she highly doubted that that was true. The boy only laughed at that, though.

“Yeah, yeah. I wouldn’t believe me either if I hadn’t known her for so long. Anyway - let’s get you into a bit more comfortable position for now and later I’ll try to talk to Glimmer again about getting rid of the ties. Sounds good?”

Even though she was still not convinced that the other girl would ever change her mind, Adora nodded. She waited patiently while Bow rearranged the ties, so she could at least sit up properly and lean against the bed. Of course he could’ve just let her go if he really believed that was the right thing but Adora guessed he was just too stubbornly loyal to his angry friend to defy her wishes. She still appreciated his efforts, though, and made a mental note to speak positively of him in her report to the general later. Or leave him out entirely. There was really no reason to possibly cause this kind boy any trouble.

“Well, I’m off now, gotta find Glimmer. See you later then!” With that Bow left the small room as well and Adora on her own. Finally. So now she could get to work and out of these ties. Thanks to Bow they weren’t cutting her veins off anymore but they certainly weren’t lose either. She had to acknowledge the quality of his technique but it still wasn’t anything she couldn’t get out off. At first she thought about simply burning the ropes but decided against it. She really didn’t have the time to deal with any eventual burns even if they were minor. So she took the harder but safer way. And after struggling with the knots for a few minutes - which wasn’t made any easier by the fact that her hands were still behind her - she did end up managing to lose them up enough to slip one arm out. All those training hours where they hadn’t been allowed to use their bending did pay off in the end now after all. When she finally freed her other hand as well, she immediately got up, grabbed a coat she found lying on the floor and snuck out of the igloo to see for herself what was going on. And to figure out how she could use the turmoil to get away. But when Adora made it outside, no one was there anymore. The hectic shouting from earlier had stopped as well. It was as if the whole village had just suddenly vanished.

_ Where the hell are they? What are they hiding from? _

And if they really were hiding from something… Adora should better not let herself be seen by whatever it was either. She pulled her hood up to cover her face and started to make her way through the settlement, making sure to always keep her back close to the tents and igloos around. She couldn’t let herself get caught off guard, especially not when she could feel eyes following her around the entire time. So the tribe's people hadn’t left after all. They just readied themselves. For what though? As far as Adora knew, no one else lived out here. And even in the tundra wild animals usually wouldn’t come near humans, right?

The burdening silence that lay over the village abruptly got cut through by a powerful voice. Even though Adora couldn’t quite understand what was being said at first, she most definitely knew who the voice belonged to. Catra. Catra had come to look for her. Of course she had. Adora’s steps had already started to grow faster when realizing that her best friend was here for her. She was now running towards the voice, Catra’s voice, leaving behind any concerns of being spotted by anyone. Another turn and she could make out uniforms of Fire Nation soldiers. And Catra in the middle, her head high and a confident smile on her face. Adora stopped for a second to watch her. It was genuine confidence, unlike when she was just trying to impress the other cadets, she could tell. Catra looked strong, fierce even. And holy shit, did she look beautiful like this. Adora was about to get out from behind the tent where she was standing and walk up to her friend, when something - or someone - tackled her down from behind, pushing her face-first into the snow on the ground.

“Ah, got her!” That was Glimmer’s voice, triumphant but somewhat out of breath. Adora tried to get up and push her off but the small girl was stronger than she looked. And heavier. So she could only manage to turn her head far enough to get Catra back into her view. She wanted to call out for her when suddenly her best friend put a tent that was only a few feet away in flames. Two women came running out in panic, trying to hide again behind the next best igloo. Watching this made the words get stuck in her throat. What was going on? These people had done nothing but stay inside their homes. Why were her people attacking them?

“Stay down!”, Glimmer hissed into her ear. “Or do you want us to end up getting grilled as well?”

“This is a misunderstanding! Catra would never-” Before Adora could finish, the other girl had already put her hand over her mouth.

“Shut up, will you? You’ll only draw attention to us and…” Glimmer’s eyes grew wide in realization. “Wait… you know her? Are you fucking kidding me?!”

Adora didn’t answer. She couldn’t have anyway with a hand keeping her mouth shut but still. She wouldn’t have known what to say to that either. This must look really bad. Her best friend seemingly burning down tents at random was definitely not a good position to argue for non-violent intentions.

“No one has to get hurt, I promise”, that was Catra speaking up again. “Just tell us who was on that boat and everything will be fine. Oh, and hand over officer Adora. Now.” Her voice grew hard at that last sentence. Her eyes desperate. 

_ She doesn’t even know I’m actually here. She’s hurting… that’s why she attacked… _

Adora knew she had to get over there. Clear everything up. When she didn’t come back that night, everyone probably assumed she was dead… but not Catra. She wouldn’t give up on her, of course not. And when someone saw Bow’s and Glimmer’s boat… 

Adora got pulled out of her thoughts when Glimmer grabbed her by her hair. “Officer, hm? Now that’s something, isn’t it? Figures that you wouldn’t tell us that you’re higher up in the enemy ranks. And Bow had me almost convinced that you were just misguided… oh well. I just wonder what your life is worth to them.”

“I’m not a real officer, I only just got promoted as a stand-in. And you got it all wrong, we’re not enemies! I told you, this has to be a misunderstanding!”

But of course Glimmer wouldn’t listen to her. Instead she pulled Adora up to her feet, arms twisted on her back, and pushed her forward. This really, really wasn’t good. Catra was too much of a ‘punch first, ask questions never’ person to not burn Glimmer on the spot when she saw her best friend as a captive. And even though she really couldn’t stand Glimmer at the moment, she couldn’t let that happen. And she was kind of the reason why Adora was still alive, too. So she let herself fall to the ground, pulling a surprised Glimmer down with her. During the fall she hit her head back against the other girls nose causing her to let her arms free. She quickly rolled over to not get buried under Glimmer yet again, pushed herself upwards and started running towards the other Fire Nation soldiers. Where she saw her best friend get ready to attack again.

“Catra, wait!”, Adora yelled out before almost running into said girl who stopped mid movement. “Wait, please, I’m alright, see? No- No need to burn down any more innocent tents.”

Catra was now staring directly at her instead of whatever she was aiming at before.

“Catra? It’s me, Adora.” She was starting to grow worried when Catra pulled her hand up to Adora’s face as if she could not believe she was real.

“It’s- it’s really you. You’re alive. How?” Adora could see her gulp, trying to get the next words out. “We- I thought- I thought you were dead. That I- that I had killed you-”

“As if you could ever hurt me.” Adora laughed to ease the tension and laid her hand over Catra’s who still hadn’t moved. “I told you I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm late and this is a bit short. But moving to a different country and new classes had me kinda busy, I'm sorry. Next sunday you will get a proper new chapter though, I promise!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape and reunion, part II.

“I told you I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I?”  
It was her. It really was Adora standing in front of her. Alive and seemingly unharmed. And Catra could finally breathe again. She hadn’t realized the weight that’s been on her chest until it was finally gone. With Adora here with her, she could feel like a person again. Despite what she had been telling herself before, despite the little hope she had been clinging to, Catra had deep down already given up on any chance of finding her best friend again. Alive. But she really was alive and breathing and standing so close, her hand on hers and Catra would just have to lean forward a bit and she could-  
No. No. What the fuck am I thinking?  
Abruptly she pulled her hand away from Adora’s cheek and averted her gaze.  
“Catra?” Adora’s voice was merely a whisper when she spoke her name. Which prompted Catra to look up at her again only to be met by confusion and hurt in Adora’s soft, blue eyes. “Did I- Is something wrong?”  
“No! No, everything is fine. Perfect. I am glad you’re okay.” She hated herself so much in that moment. Making Adora feel uncomfortable or insecure was the last thing she wanted. And here she was being a total dick.  
“So, mission accomplished! Great work, captain!” That was Scorpia now next to them. Catra had completely forgotten about her. And the rest of her soldiers for that matter. All that had mattered to her was Adora. Or, well, how to make sure she herself wouldn’t make it back from this mission if they didn’t find her. Catra had to admit that she hadn’t really planned any further ahead than that. What had their orders been again? Right, get the boatspeople.  
She tried to compose herself again and turned to Scorpia. “Not so fast. We still need to find whoever sailed into our territory and kidnapped Ado- officer Adora. Soldiers, get searching!”  
“Kidnapped? No, that’s not what- they saved me, Catra.” Adora grabbed her wrist so gently as if she feared to scare her away if she held on too strong. She had always been like that. Gentle and strong and caring. Looking out for her.  
So Catra tried to calm her concerns. “Don’t worry, princess. I won’t burn anything else down. This is just for questioning purposes, nothing mo-” That’s when she saw it. The bags under Adora’s eyes. The exhausted look on her face. Her chafed wrists. They hurt her.  
“They didn’t save you… they captured you.” Catra’s expression grew stone cold just like her voice. How dare they lay hands on her?  
\--  
“It’s not- it’s not what it looks like, really! This is a misunderstanding. They’ve been very kind. Bow even made us stew and-” Adora tried to calm Catra down but she got cut off by her immediately.  
“So one of them was called Bow? Who else was involved? What do you remember?” Catra’s questions sounded more like commands now than anything else. It kind of scared her. Especially after seeing how her best friend had been lashing out just a bit earlier.  
“Nothing. And there is nothing to know. Bow has been nothing but kind to me, he didn’t do anything wrong. Please, just trust me and let’s go home.” Adora tried to stay calm. She shouldn’t be afraid of Catra. And she wasn’t. She just knew how… how she could get when people hurt her…  
“I do trust you. But I will not let them get away with this.” And with that she shook off Adora’s hand, walking past her. When Adora turned around to follow her, she was about to speak up again but stopped right when she saw what - or rather who - they were headed to.  
“Let me go you fucking scumbags or you’ll fucking regret it!” Glimmer was screaming while struggling to get out of the grip of two soldiers holding her down.  
“Officer, we found her hiding right over there. She jumped Qiang and-” Catra raised her hand in a motion to silence the soldier’s attempts at explaining.  
She then moved towards the captured girl and pulled her head up by her chin. “Well, you seem definitely feisty. Do you happen to know anything about the illegal trespassing in our territory?”  
Glimmer’s answer was to spit right in her face. Catra flinched and took a step back while wiping her face clean. “Fuck it then. We’re taking her with us. Go and lock her up, I’ll continue here.”  
Catra left them to it without another glance at the girl she just send off to prison. What was going on with her?  
Adora tried to step in. “Catra, wait, Glimmer is just a kid! I’m sure we can solve this another way?”  
“A kid? She’s basically our age, Adora! Also, she fucking spit in my face, like, what the hell.” Catra responded. And stopped right where she was. “Wait, you know her? Was she also one of the people who kept you here?”  
“Uh…” Adora didn’t know what to say. Yes, Glimmer had been kind of a bitch to her but did she deserve prison because of that?  
“Oh yeah, we know each other. And good thing we tied her up, your shithead spy would have probably killed us in our sleep elsewise”, Glimmer hissed and shot a dark look at Adora. Shit. How was she supposed to help her when she was being like… this. But still, she had to try at least. She owed Glimmer that much at least.  
“Please, Catra, listen to me. I know this looks bad but- but they saved me! Sure, they haven’t exactly been very… hospitable… but without them- without them I wouldn’t be here and alive right now!” At that last part she could see her best friend tense up just before averting her eyes. But why? Catra usually never backed off from an argument. Before Adora could figure out what was the matter, though, Catra had already collected herself again and replied: “Fine. I’ll hear your new ‘friend’ over here out. But she is coming with us.”  
With that Catra turned her back on the village and called back her soldiers on her way back to the ship, two guards carrying the still struggling Glimmer right behind her. The sight made Adora feel sick. This was all wrong. She knew Catra was probably just following orders but even so… what could justify the terror they brought on this town of innocent people?  
Weren’t we supposed to be the good guys?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, look who's back after moving to a different country twice and overcoming months of writer's block! Issa me, Mario!


End file.
